Year: 1999
Type: article
Abstract: A current disruption (CD) event was observed by the Geotail spacecraft at (X, Y)GSM=(−10.0, 1.9) RE within 1 min from the onset of a substorm. The event was selected as one of four near‐Earth current disruption events identified in a search of three years of Geotail data. Fast ion flows accompanied the magnetic field dipolarization, rendering this event a near‐Earth bursty bulk flow (BBF) event. The gradient anisotropy of the 30–44 keV ions at the onset of the flow is consistent with an Earthward motion of the heated plasma and agrees with the direction of flux and energy transport. The aurora and the associated electrojet moved from low to high latitudes during substorm expansion. Our observations show that CDs and BBFs are qualitatively similar phenomena in the near‐Earth tail, both associated with poleward‐moving (classical) auroral substorms.
Source: Geophysical Research Letters
DOI: 10.1029/1999gl900601
Authors: V. Angelopoulos, F. S. Mozer, T. Mukai, K. Tsuruda, S. Kokubun, T. J. Hughes
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W1989874321